Is my PC Rainbow dying or recovering?

[eamike261]

Hello... the first pice is my PC Rainbow 3 weeks ago when I first got it. The latter two pics are now. I'm pretty sure I light-shocked it but it's lower in the tank now. My question is... is it recovering or is it dying? If it's dying, should I cut off the top half since it looks pretty colorless? The polyps are still extending though so I don't think the upper portion is actually dead.

In other words... does this seem more like STN or just bleached?

Image #1 Original image 3 weeks ago
Image #2 Current image under blue/white LEDs
Image #3 Current image with tank lights off but phone light on

In case people want to know:
JBJ 30 gallon
MP40QD
AI Hydra 26 HD - peak lighting 30% UV, 60% V, 75% RB, 40% B, 0% red/green, 27% white
Temp: 77.5
Ammonia/Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 2.5ppm
Alkalinity: 7.9-8.4 (dosed daily)
Ca: 450ppm

 

[Sierra_Bravo]

I personally would not cut anything off the top as I still see polyps and flesh. If it were mine, I'd wait it out a month or two and see how it does.

 

[SashimiTurtle]

Leave it alone and let it recover. SPS are usually on a 2 week delay, so anything you do will take that long to show up. Since it's already glued, I would maybe dim your lights a tad for a week, then slowly bring them back up one notch per week until you are back where you normally run them.

 

[gioNVA]

In the last photo, looks like there are some aefw bite marks. Have you dipped for pests?

 

[Rakie]

In the last photo, looks like there are some aefw bite marks. Have you dipped for pests?

That's what I'm seeing.

Dip it in Melafix for 5 minutes and see how things go. I'm seeing AEFW.

 

[SashimiTurtle]

In the last photo, looks like there are some aefw bite marks. Have you dipped for pests?

That's what I'm seeing.

Dip it in Melafix for 5 minutes and see how things go. I'm seeing AEFW.

Good eyes... I'm still learning the signs of pests. Did that new in tank AEFW treatment ever end up working out?

 

[Sarah24!]

Hello,

I’m only asking because I don’t know what to look for, and some of the info I’m reading is unclear. The pics where people see the aefw bite marks, what do you look for?

 

[Rakie]

Good eyes... I'm still learning the signs of pests. Did that new in tank AEFW treatment ever end up working out?

For me, no. After first sign of it not working I moved on immediately as I wasn't testing the product for fun, I was trying to eliminate a pest. I got some guff for not finishing the treatment, but the treatment is reliant on killing 100% of alive AEFW. If even a single one survives, they can lay eggs, which will hatch outside of the "treatment window" rendering the treatment 100% useless.

Hello,

I’m only asking because I don’t know what to look for, and some of the info I’m reading is unclear. The pics where people see the aefw bite marks, what do you look for?

Round bite marks. It's kind of fuzzy, but you see those round light circles on the bottom 1/3 of the acro? That looks like AEFW to me, and @gioNVA. That's a signature calling card from AEFW. It's most visible under yellow flashlight lighting, not blue tank lighting. IN fact... You will notice symptoms FAR before you see any physical bite marks.

 

[Sarah24!]

Hello

Lol @Rakie sorry for sounding just kinda dumb, but do you mean at the base where it’s brown and white? Or like where the polyps come out. Just want to check my own tank because n have lost some acros, but usually they were really fast.

 

[Rakie]

Hello

Lol @Rakie sorry for sounding just kinda dumb, but do you mean at the base where it’s brown and white? Or like where the polyps come out. Just want to check my own tank because n have lost some acros, but usually they were really fast.

It's not where the polyps and corallites are, but rather the light skinned circles around the lower portion of it. The white streaks going up the stalks could easily be areas that have been heavily bitten. But the round light circles on the bottom half are what we're looking at. They could look like coralites, but you can see the polyps are a stark brown under yellow lighting.

On fuzzy pictures and to the unfamiliar eye, white AEFW bites can easily look like polyps or the beginning of polyp's. These are not though, they're a ittle more random.

 

[SashimiTurtle]

Hello

Lol @Rakie sorry for sounding just kinda dumb, but do you mean at the base where it’s brown and white? Or like where the polyps come out. Just want to check my own tank because n have lost some acros, but usually they were really fast.

Circled in red, the little light colored dots.

 

[Rakie]

Circled in red, the little light colored dots.

I should have just done that LOL

 

[Sarah24!]

Hello,

Oh wow now I see them clear as day, it only took a huge red marker lol. I was trying to look on mine with just my phone light, but it’s really hard to tell. Would they ever be on the encrusted part, like where the coral is encrusting or always above? Oh and also do they munch on all of them at once or work their way to each acro?

 

[DesertReefBoy]

Might not be a bad idea to look into a coris wrasse. They eat AEFW.

 

[Rakie]

Hello,

Oh wow now I see them clear as day, it only took a huge red marker lol. I was trying to look on mine with just my phone light, but it’s really hard to tell. Would they ever be on the encrusted part, like where the coral is encrusting or always above? Oh and also do they munch on all of them at once or work their way to each acro?

All of the above and more.

They are found most steadily near the base and encrusting edge. They lay micro eggs on the dead skeleton only (which is easy at the growth edge as the flesh is the most thin). And will slowly eat it from end to end.

When eggs first hatch they can be free swimming, and will infest the whole tank a little at a time.

AEFW has been the end of many SPS tanks over the years.

 

[Sarah24!]

Hello,

Wow I didn’t know they were that common, I have always dipped my corals but have learned that it doesn’t kill the eggs. All the bases of my sps look normal, just some of the upper section of my pc rainbow is losing flesh but the polyps are still out. I have turned the lights down but wanted to make sure, still hard to see for me at least. I can easily see it on the example piece here since marked, not sure I can spot that easy now on my own.

 

[Rakie]

Any regular powerful flashlight with tank lights off will make it SUPER easy to spot. I would always do two things after years of trial and error.

1) Never, ever, ever, keep the base a coral is on. Cut it off the frag plug at all times. It's never worth 1/4" of growth if you can get bugs form it
2) Dip in Melafix. It destroys AEFW, and a bunch of other exotics too. Bayer doesn't.

 

[Sarah24!]

Any regular powerful flashlight with tank lights off will make it SUPER easy to spot. I would always do two things after years of trial and error.

1) Never, ever, ever, keep the base a coral is on. Cut it off the frag plug at all times. It's never worth 1/4" of growth if you can get bugs form it
2) Dip in Melafix. It destroys AEFW, and a bunch of other exotics too. Bayer doesn't.

That’s good to know I will have to borrow my dads high powered flash light. I havnt heard of Melafix do most lfs carry it? I can always order online but would rather just go buy it . Thanks for the tips and lesson, I have learned a lot from it.

 

[Rakie]

That’s good to know I will have to borrow my dads high powered flash light. I havnt heard of Melafix do most lfs carry it? I can always order online but would rather just go buy it . Thanks for the tips and lesson, I have learned a lot from it.

Some LFS carry it. There's three kinds, Melafix Regular (1%), Melafix Marine (1.25%), and Melafix Pond (5%). It's made by API, and the only difference is concentration of medication. It's actually just Tea Tree Oil in RODI water.

It's a VERY strong dip that is time sensitive. Your hard corals will have no reaction unless you dip for 10+ minutes. It's a timed dip that is a hard 5-6 minutes. The concentration wanted is about 50mL / Gallon of the regular/marine mix, or about 10mL/Gallon of the marine. Scale that down to whatever sized container you are using.

Set your timer, do not get distracted. A 5-6 minute dip is totally fine. No longer than that.

Rinse corals in another cup of tank water before putting back in.

 

[eamike261]

Wow thanks for pointing that out guys. I had no idea... and now I'm terrified because I have 6 other acros in the tank. I'm going to check them for bite marks too. So the only course of treatment is to remove all the acros from their rocks and dip them all at once and hope that gets all of the AEFW? I have Coral Rx. Would that work for AEFW?